General Counsel Commission

AMENDED MINUTES GENERAL COUNSEL COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING OF MARCH 9, 2023 Present: Council Member Nocera, Council Member Blackwell, Council Member Marino and Council Member Salafia. Staff: Deputy General Counsel, Kori Wisneski, Director of HR, Justin Richardson Public: Kevin Elak, Kelly Robinson, Jen Hobart 1. Call to Order: Meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. 2. Public Comment: Jen Hobart, President of Local 466 spoke in support of the job study that is on the agenda. She explained that the union and city mutually agreed that the current system is outdated and the union is in full support of the job study proposed. 3. Approval of February 9, 2023 Regular Meeting Minutes Council Member Blackwell made a motion to amend the minutes to include her request to know all of the eight positions that go before labor management and Council Member Marino seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Council Member Marino made a motion to approve the minutes with the amendment and Council Member Salafia seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 4. New Business A. Ordinance – Food and Foot Establishments (Chapter 166) Attorney Wisneski introduced the ordinance and Health Director Kevin Elak, who was present to speak on the changes proposed. Director Elak explained that the changes are a result the State adopting new food codes that regulate our food establishments in town. The fee schedule was also reviewed and slight increases were proposed which will not put a burden on the establishments, but will raise our overall revenue by nine thousand dollars. More discussion ensued regarding the fee schedule and why the ordinance was changed. Council Member Salafia made a motion to approve the ordinance and Council Member Blackwell seconded the motion. The motion passes unanimously.  B. Classification & Compensation Plan Consultant Attorney Wisneski started the discussion and explained that they are seeking to do a new compensation and classification review for the City of Middletown. The city is currently under the Maximus Archer Plan, which is over twenty years old. An RFP for proposals was sent out to undertake this compensation classification study for 466, UPSEU, and non-bargaining employees. Attorney Wisneski further explains that they reached out to Union leadership to make sure that they could review the RFP and provide any comments that they thought would be appropriate. We received three response from the RFP, which were Baker Tilly, One Digital, and DIG Management Consultants. The interview panel consisted of the Mayor, Majority Leader, Minority Leader, General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, and Director of Human Resources. This panel interviewed the three entities that responded to the proposal and the panel was unanimous in selecting Baker Tilly. Attorney Wisneski explained to the commission that Baker Tilly is going to do a full presentation to the Common Council at the next council meeting, April 6, during questions to directors. Discussion ensued regarding how Baker Tilly will start this project. Council Member Blackwell inquired about focus group for the staff members and union members to participate in and if the process will help to eliminate the labor management process. More discussion ensued regarding this topic. Council Member Blackwell made a motion to move the appropriation forward to council for approval and Council Member Salafia seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Council Member Blackwell made a motion to approve the classification and compensation resolution and Council Member Salafia seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. C. Equal Opportunity & Diversity Management 2nd Quarter Hiring Report Attorney Wisneski explained to the Commission that Council Member Blackwell wanted this item on the agenda for discussion. Council Member Blackwell explained that she went through the Quarterly Hiring Report with Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management, Faith Jackson, who submits the report, and she has questions for Director Richardson with respect to the process and procedures. She asked what the City does to justify its hire if the city is interviewing a pool of candidates and the person hired is not the goal candidate, but there was a goal candidate in the interview pool Director Richardson then explains that it is dependent on the recruitment and if there is a ranking system involved. If there is not then it is the recommendation of the department head and the hiring manager and the Mayor can supersede at the very end. Council Member Blackwell then goes on the question the Insurance/Benefits Coordinator position in the Office of the General Counsel because a non-goal candidate was hired even though there were goal candidates interviewed for the 2 position. More discussion ensued regarding the interview process and the idea of ranking interviewees. Council Member Blackwell suggests the City having diverse interview panels. Council Member Blackwell requested to have the Hiring report on the GCC agenda going forward on a quarterly basis. More discussion ensued regarding the Affirmative Action Monitoring Committee. Director Richardson then discussed the outreach and advertising that his division has worked on over the last year to diversify the applicant pool. Director Richardson read into the record all of the outreach his office has been doing. Councilwoman Blackwell would like this to be a monthly report to the Commission. Date of Event Event Title Location 4/20/2022 Connecticut State University System Virtual Consortium careeroco.com 6/4/2022 Pride Event Town Green 6/9/2022 Chamber Meeting Middlesex Chamber 6/15/2022 Cruise on Main Street Main Street 6/21/2022 Middlesex County Career Fair Courtyard by Marriott 4 Sebethe Drive, Cromwell 6/21/2022 Chamber Breakfast Sheraton Hartford South Hotel in Rocky Hill 7/26/2022 Outreach Tour Downtown Main Street 8/2/2022 PD - National Night Out Outside of Police Dept. 222Main St, Middletown 8/12/2022 PD - Informational Table Outside of Eli Cannons 695 Main St, Middletown 9/9/2022 Middletown Farmer's Market Middletown Green 9/13/2022 Adult Ed Meeting Middletown Adult Ed Building 9/21/2022 Trade Show Event Aqua Turf 9/23/2022 West Hartford Minority Business Networking Luna Pizza Lunch 999 Farmington Ave, West Hartford 9/23/2022 Middletown Farmer's Market Middletown Green 10/28/2022 Fire - Informational Table Sicily Coal Fire Pizza 11/3/2022 University of Hartford Career Fair Gengras Student Union (GSU) Building 200 Bloomfield Ave, West Hartford 11/3/2022 Middlesex County Career Fair Courtyard by Marriott 4 Sebethe Drive, Cromwell More discussion ensued regarding posting vacancies on social media platforms. Councilwoman Blackwell wants to see vacancy postings on the City’s social media platforms. 3  5. Old Business A. Discussion of Residency Ordinance Council Member Nocera explained that the Dems are in the process of compiling data and should have more information at the end of the month. Council Member Salafia explained that the Republican caucus is on the same page of a 15-mile radius because 25 miles is too big of an area. More discussion ensued. 6. Other – None to Report. 7. Adjournment: Council Member Blackwell made a MOTION to adjourn and the meeting adjourned. 4